Walking on broken glass
by Kables
Summary: A year has passed since the Cell games. Yamcha's depressed, and Launch is accused of a felony. Will bringing these two together help solve their problems, or will it make it worse? [[Hurray! Chapter six is up! n.n!]]
1. Knock, Knock! Who's There? Reality!

**Walking on broken glass**

_By: Burikko / Katie.G_

I do not own Dragonball/Z/GT. This is strictly a fan fiction. I do not plan on making a profit out of this story.

**Chapter 1:** "Knock, knock. Who's there? Reality."

* * *

Yamcha sat silently, twirling his finger around the edge of his shot glass. Thoughts and regrets of the past raced through his mind. But no matter what he thought about, it always changed back to Bulma. The first love of his life. He remembered the wonderful times they use to have together. Especially when they first met. It was like they were joined at the hip, doing everything or anything for each other. But as they grew, they're relationships sort of just dissolved into pity. Bulma only being with him because she didn't like being alone and Yamcha wanting so badly to believe everything would work out.

Yamcha went away to go train for the arrival of the Androids. Yamcha made an effort to call Bulma, but she was either not there or busy doing something important. Leaving Bulma in the dark was the worse feeling he could have. After three months of being away, he decided to drop in and surprise her. But **he's** the one who got the surprise. As soon as he walked in the front door, his eyes got as big as dinner plates as he witnessed Bulmas and Vegetas first kiss. He could remember every detail of that moment if he was asked. What Bulma was wearing, how Vegeta held her so tenderly, and so on and so forth. It made his head hurt just thinking about it. He drowned himself in booze, trying to forget about it, but on the day of the Androids arrival, he couldn't deny it any longer. He arrived on top of a mountain with Tien, Gohan, and Goku, waiting for others to show up. As they waited, Bulma showed up, landing her aircraft. As soon as she got out, there in her arms was a bouncing baby boy.

Ever since that day, Yamcha tried so desperately to fill the hole in his heart with cheap booze and woman who went even cheaper. He was a wreck, but never really showed it in front of his friends. He normally would turn to Goku for advice and comfort, but he was finally gone for good. He somehow knew that it would happen like that. Goku always thought of others before he thought of himself. He was a great guy.

"Yamcha!"

Yamcha didn't bother to turn around. He just remained sitting, taking another shot out of his glass.

"Please don't ignore me, Yamcha! Come home."

"Puar, I told you I'd be home by 5:00pm. It's only," He paused to look at his watch, and realized it was already past 8:15pm.

"Yamcha…" Puar whimpered in a worriedly hushed tone. "Please come home..."

"Okay… I'm coming." Yamcha said under a sigh. He stood up, and almost immediately fell over, but quickly caught himself.

"Yamcha!" Puar gasped as she zoomed over to help him.

"I'm okay, I'm fine." Yamcha reassured her. He reached into his jacket and pulled out some money, laying it on the counter. "See you tomorrow, Frank."

"Sure thing." The bartender said, wiping down a shot glass.

"Yamcha. You have to stop this." Puar said to him, following behind him as he wobbled out the door.

"Stop what?" Yamcha snapped. "I'm fine. Let's just go home, okay? I don't want to hear about it."

"But Yamcha…"

"ENOUGH!" Yamcha shouted. His anger echoed in the empty streets, making him realize what he had just done. He finally looked to Puar, who had flattened her ears with tears in her eyes.

"Puar. I'm sorry, I'm just…"

"An angry old drunk." Puar said, finishing his sentence.

Yamcha looked at her with shock. Did she just say that? Puar? She never questioned his way of living…

"I'm going to Tiens. When you decide to let me help you, you'll know where to find me."

"Wait! Puar…! Wait just a minute!" Yamcha called out just as she began to turn around.

"I'm tired of waiting, Yamcha!" Puar shouted with tears in her voice. Her back remained turned to him, she refused to look at him.

A long and painful silence fell over them. Yamcha wanted so badly to say something, but he didn't know what to say that would make it better. Puar slowly began to float away, and she vanished in the darkness of the night. Yamcha's eyes slowly met the ground as he turned to the opposite direction and began to walk home. Things couldn't possibly get any worse…

-----------

As soon as Yamcha walked through the doorway of his humble home, he collapsed on the sofa, face first and let out a long mournful sigh. He felt like he wanted to cry, but he was always taught that it was for the weak. He lifted his head and noticed a flash on his answering machine. He reached over and pressed the play button.

"_You have one new message. First message, sent today at 7:32pm."_

"Hey, Yamcha. This is Toshie, your baseball manager. Look, there is no easy way to say this… but I'm going to have to let you go. Unless you can get your act together, you can come by tomorrow to get your stuff. See you in the funny papers, kid."

"_End of messages."_

Yamcha laid silently on his sofa, staring at his answering machine. He wasn't surprised, and to be honest he couldn't possibly get hurt any more then he already was. He turned over to his side and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

-----------

"_Hey, this is Yamcha."_

"_And this is Puar!"_

"_Leave us a message after the tone, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can."_

"……Um, hello? Uh, I don't know if you remember me, but I don't really know who else to call…"

Yamcha slowly opened his eyes and glanced up at his clock. It was 10:00am. He grunted and slowly sat up and rubbed his head. He had a major hang over. It was like somebody was banging a drum inside of his head.

"I'm in trouble. I don't know what happened. I mean, I don't remember…"

Without much of a hurry, Yamcha slowly got up and scuffled to his phone and picked it up, putting it to his ear.

"Hello?" He mumbled.

"Yamcha!" The person on the other end seemed thrilled that he actually answered.

"Who is this?" He asked, checking the clock again.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? It's me, Launch!"

"Launch?" Yamcha questioned. He paused to think where he heard that name before. Then it clicked. His eyes widened, now fully awake. "Whoa, Launch! It's been forever!"

"Oh, I know!" She chirped. "But…" She paused, as her voice got lower and more distressful. "I'm in trouble. I think my other half may have done something really bad. I'm in jail right now."

"Which one?"

"I don't know… I think it's the one downtown." Tears began to develop in her voice. "I'm really scared… I don't know what's going to happen to me."

"Calm down," Yamcha said in a soft voice, trying to sound as soothing as possible. "I'll come down and bail you out."

"No!" Launch shouted. "It's too much."

"It can't be that bad." Yamcha said, very sure of himself. "How much is it? Do you know?"

"500,000 dollars."

Yamcha's mouth dropped, dropping the phone to the floor. That's more then what he made in a whole year, and he was a baseball player! What did she do to piss off the judge so much to make her bail so high?

"Yamcha? Hello?"

Yamcha slowly picked up the phone, and cleared his throat. He went to say something, but his mouth got dry. 500,000! Was she pulling his leg?

"Yamcha! Please don't hang up!"

"No… I'm here. I'll be over there in a minute." He hung up the phone and let out a long and deep sigh. He only had half that much in his bank account. Where would he get the other half? Only one name came to mind. As much as he didn't want to ask for money, this would be an exception. He picked up his phone again and dialed a few numbers.

"Hello? Bulma?"

* * *

.:Author's Note:.

Hi everyone! This is Burikko, the one and only! I know neither Launch nor Yamcha are very popular characters, but please give this story a chance! I think it'll turn out pretty good, if I actually finish it. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make it better? Any comments would be appreciated! Thanks for reading!

Watch out for the second chapter.


	2. Surprise!

**Walking on broken glass**

_By: Burikko / Katie.G_

I do not own Dragonball/Z/GT. This is strictly a fan fiction. I do not plan on making a profit out of this story.

**Chapter 2:** "Surprise!"

* * *

Yamcha slowly approached the building that he dreaded just **looking** at. He would always avoid the sight of this particular building by taking the long way to baseball practice. Capsule Corps. He thought about turning back… Maybe he could just get a loan somewhere.

"Hey! What are **you** doing here?"

But it was too late. He sighed and rolled his eyes. There was no turning back now. He walked past the picket fence and to the door.

"Are you deaf, human?"

Yamcha finally looked up, and acknowledged Vegeta peaking his head out the window. Normally they just despised each other behind one another's back, but believe it or not, Vegeta was a very jealous person. Nobody was going to talk to **his** 'woman', especially not some weakling human.

"I'm just here to ask Bulma something, chill." Yamcha said, then made his way inside without so much as a knock on the door.

"Hey! Come back here when I'm insulting you, human!" Vegeta yelled at him through the window.

Yamcha didn't listen. He knew right where to find her. He walked down the hall to a door with the word 'Lab' painted in neat handwriting. He knocked on the door, but with no responds.

"Bulma? Are you in there?"

"Yamcha?" A small voice came from the other side. "Yeah! Come in."

Yamcha pushed the door open and walked into what he found rather amusing. It was more like a fun house then a Lab. He glanced around the room and finally caught the sigh of Bulma behind a desk, writing on a paper.

"So, um," Yamcha stayed put. He didn't approach her, or even bothered to make small talk. "I'll find a way to pay you back."

"Oh there's no need." Bulma said as she stood up and approached him. "It's okay."

Yamcha casually glanced away from her and put his hands in his pockets. What was wrong with him? His legs would get weak, his face would get flushed, and his voice would get all shaky. Every time… This girl was married for crying out loud! Why couldn't he get over her!

"Yamcha, yoo hoo! Here, take it."

Yamcha looked back at her and saw her waving around an envelope in front of him. He took it from her, and checked inside. There was a check, but it wasn't enough.

"I thought you said you would have enough to help me." Yamcha said, but didn't keep eye contact with her.

"Yamcha, this is 500,000 dollars we're talking about. That's a lot. Even though my dad owns Capsule Corps doesn't mean I'm made of money. That's all I can give you. I'm sorry…"

Yamcha nodded and put the envelope in his pocket.

"Well, I'll guess I'll see you later. Say hello to Launch for me." Bulma just sort of waved him off as she returned to her desk and began writing on the same paper she was before.

"Yeah…. Bye." Yamcha mumbled. He quickly left the Lab and let out a sigh of relief. He looked at his hands. They were shaky.

"You'll be going now."

Yamcha looked up and came eye to eye with Vegeta. He gave him a look of anger, while Yamcha gave him a look of annoyance.

"My pleasure. I'll show myself out." Yamcha huffed. He walked past Vegeta, bumping into him as he made his way out.

-------------

"Oh you're here for the bi-polar girl, eh? Just a minute, I'll buzz you in."

Yamcha watched as the over weight cop pressed his chubby finger on a red button, causing the steel door in front of him to buzz.

"You can go in now."

Yamcha swung open the door and walked in. He found himself in a room with tons of old fashion jail cells. He walked down the long row of cells, looking in each one but saw no sign of life. Until finally he reached the very last one…

He saw her huddled up in a corner with her knees to her chest. It was like she hadn't age a bit since the last time he saw her. Her beautiful purple hair gracefully sat upon her shoulders, and even in the dim jail cell, it seemed to shine. She had on a pair of baggy black pants, the bottoms of the pants tucked in to a pair of dark green army boots. She had on a black tank top, and had a pair of dog tags that dangled from her neck. Her big red bow was removed from her hair and tied to her dark brown belt.

"Hey, Launch?" Yamcha called out. But she didn't respond.

"She's sleeping." A man came up from behind Yamcha. "I'm the bail bond. I understand you have this young ladies bail money."

"Yeah." Yamcha said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some loose money, and the envelope Bulma had given him.

The bail bond took it and gave Yamcha a long glare that made him rather uncomfortable.

"What?" Yamcha finally asked.

"People like you make me sick… How could you bail out a murderer?"

Yamcha's mouth hung open slightly as soon as he heard that. Murderer? Not Launch. Not even Kushami. He knew she had a problem with stealing, but a murderer? That couldn't be. Maybe the bail bond was mistaken…

"**Her**? That girl in there?" He asked, pointing behind his shoulder to Launch.

"Of course. There's nobody else here, is there?" The bail bond shook his head in disgust and took a bundle of keys from his pocket and picked a random one to unlock the jail cell.

"Wake up. You're free to go."

Launch slowly opened her big blue eyes. As soon as she saw Yamcha standing there, she quickly stood up and ran into his arms. She didn't say anything, but sobbed on his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey... It's okay." Yamcha said with a smile, patting her back. "It'll be okay."

"Take it outside, would ya? We have things to do." The bail bond snapped then turned around, walking down the hall.

"We better go, before they change their minds and raise the bail or something." Yamcha said, looking down at Launch.

She eventually looked up from the comfort of his shoulder and nodded her head slightly.

"Okay…"

---------------

As soon as Launch was out of that nasty old jail building, she let out a big sigh of relief. She kept a tight hold of Yamcha's arm, and kept looking over her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Yamcha finally asked.

"Nothing!" Launch said as she quickly looked to him with a reassuring smile. "So, how ever did you get that much money?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, I had some in the bank, and Bulma helped me out a bit. I went to the baseball stadium and sold a few of my things and a couple of my friends said they would sign baseballs so I could sell them." He looked at his watch, and laughed a little. "I wanted to be there this morning, but earning money obviously takes more time. Sorry."

"Oh no! You sold you things?" Launch asked, letting go of him and quickly getting in front of him. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Launch, I **wanted** to. You and your friendship are more important then possessions." He said with a smile.

A small smile appeared on Launch's face. She was about to say something when she suddenly heard a series of bangs, like a machine gun. Her pupils suddenly shrank as her knees locked and she fell to her side covering her ears and screaming.

"No! Don't do it! Don't do it!" She screamed.

"Launch? LAUNCH!" Yamcha quickly dropped to his knees and grabbed a hold of her shoulders, trying to look in her eyes. "Calm down! Listen! …It's only firecrackers!"

Launch opened her eyes and looked at him, breathing quickly, like she had just ran a mile. She looked over her shoulder and saw two children setting off firecrackers in the street.

"…Launch, tell me what's going on."

* * *

.:Authors Note:.

Hi everyone! It's Burikko! A huge thank you to SuperSanne, and walutahanga. Your comments are what keep me going! Any other comments and suggestions on writing would be great. Another thing, if I'm out of character, let me know.


	3. Ticking Time Bomb

**Walking on broken glass**

_By: Burikko / Katie.G_

I do not own Dragonball/Z/GT. This is strictly a fan fiction. I do not plan on making a profit out of this story.

**Chapter 3:** "Ticking time bomb"

* * *

"…Launch, tell me what's going on."

Launch said nothing. She had a hold of her chest, and once again kept looking over her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go somewhere safe."

Yamcha quickly scooped her up in his arms and walked across town and right in an empty alleyway. He looked around casually before jumping up into the air and taking flight. He flew particularly fast; he wanted to get Launch somewhere where she would feel safe. Obviously something was going through her mind, the question is, what?

--------------

"Are you feeling better?" Yamcha asked, handing her a cup of orange juice.

"Yes. I'm sorry for causing such a fuss…" Launch said as she took the glass from him.

Yamcha sat across from her on his sofa, and gazed at her. He wanted to get her to talk to him, tell him what was going on. But then again, **he** always got angry whenever someone tried to get him to talk when he didn't want to. Maybe he'd let her settle down a little more before he asked any questions. After all, she's been accused of murder. That was enough excitement in one day, wouldn't you think?

"This is a nice place…" Launch said, finally breaking the silence. "There's not much furniture though."

Yamcha looked around himself. The truth was he practically sold almost everything in his house to get a hold of the rest of Launch's bail money. But he felt like it was best not to tell her.

"Yeah, well it's a small house. I don't want it to look crowded with to much furniture, you know?" He said, taking another gander around.

"…I don't know what to do." Launch finally said out of the blue as she looked down at her cup. "They told me that I was in there for murder. But I don't remember anything."

"I see." He said, looking towards her. "Can I ask you something?" He couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Sure."

"What happened in town today? Why did you freak out when you heard those firecrackers?" Yamcha asked, leaning in a little closer. He noticed when Launch was worried she had a tendency to talk softly.

"I don't know." She said. "…I just remember screaming."

"Hmm, that's strange." Yamcha said, putting his chin in the palm of his hand as he thought about it. "Maybe when you heard the firecrackers, you had a flashback of something that happened to you."

"Maybe." Launch said. "I don't remember much these past few years. Kushami's the one who's been active."

Another silence came over them. An open window blew in a pleasant breeze. Yamcha took the opportunity of silence to think about what Launch was telling him. A lot of it didn't make sense. Something must have happened that was so unspeakable that she unknowingly blocked it from her memory. But even memories can have leaks. When she heard the firecrackers, a flash back must have clicked.

"Ah.. Ah... AH-CHOO!"

Yamcha quickly stood up and put his forearm in front of his face. A funny little reaction he developed when he first met Launch.

A girl with big blonde curly hair, and deviant green eyes sat in the same exact spot where Launch had been sitting. She looked confused and rather displeased at her surroundings. She looked down at the cup of orange juice and exchanged a look of disgust.

"What the hell is this crap?" She growled as she stood up and threw the glass at Yamcha. He quickly side stepped and turned around, watching the glass shatter on his wall.

"Where am I? And who the hell are you!"

Yamcha turned back around to face the blonde vixen, when he suddenly found a machine gun in his face.

"Take it easy, Kushami! It's Yamcha, remember?" Yamcha asked, nervously laughing as he raised his hands up a little.

"Yamcha..." Kushami repeated, rolling her eyes up and wandered them a little as she thought about that name. "Oh yeah, Yamcha." She chuckled and lowered the gun to her side.

"Thank Kami." Yamcha sighed, patting his chest.

"So, you broke me out of the slammer, eh? Good going, I knew there was still some bad boy in ya."

"No... I bailed you out." Yamcha said without much enthusiasm. "And I need to talk to you, maybe I can get some answers because your other half is completely clueless of what's going on."

"Oh boy, here we go." Kushami groaned. "Why don't you shut that flap in front of your mouth and make me a martini?"

"That can wait. I'm worried about why you were in jail. It's not true, ... is it?" Yamcha asked, lowering his chin a little.

Kushami didn't even bother to look at him. She spotted a little mini bar in the corner. She walked past him, tossing her gun on the sofa and opened up the cabin to help herself.

"Kushami, in case you didn't know, you're accused of murder. **Murder**. You have to go to trial. Do you even know how you're going to protect yourself?" He asked, getting just a little impatient with her.

"I'm not a murderer." She simply said, taking a good long drink of her martini, then set the glass down on the table.

Yamcha stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. He approached her, but her back remained turned to him.

"Is that all? You're just going to show up and say that you're not a murderer? What evidence do you have? What proof? This is serious, Kushami!"

"Don't you think I know that!" She snapped as she twirled around, facing him. "I know! I'm up to my neck in shit!"

"...Kushami."

"I'm not a murderer! I'M NOT! I've done a lot things, some of them I'm not proud of but murder isn't one of them!" Her pride began to fall from her eyes, running down her flushed cheek. "I'm not..."

She just buried her face in her hands. She's been holding back her strife for so long that it was too overwhelming for her to stop. It was like a huge over flow that was out of control.

Yamcha watched her in silence. A weird emotion came over him, he didn't know how to explain it. Shocked, worried, thoughtful? Was it a mixture of the three? Or was it all of the above? He knew how she felt, in a strange way. Nobody was there to comfort her in her time of need, and she felt unappreciated or forgotten. Like he did when he spent all his spare time saturating himself in alcohol. Trying to feel better...

"Kushami, It's okay… I'll help you. But I need to know what happened. Do you feel like talking-"

"No! Leave me alone!"

Kushami stormed past him and found a random room to lock herself in to. Yamcha felt like it was best if she was left alone. He wanted to help, and the last thing he wanted to do was force her to talk, but he couldn't help her if she didn't tell him anything… He would have to figure out a way to nudge her forward.

------------

Hours went by, and still nothing. Yamcha tried to keep himself entertained with cards, and old books since he sold his television set.

"9:10pm." Yamcha said to himself as he looked up at the wall clock. "I guess she fell asleep." He sighed and pushed himself off of the sofa and wandered into the kitchen to make himself something to eat before he crashed for the night. He found some noodles, boiled them up and helped himself. Just as he sat down, Kushami walked in the living room.

"That smells good..." She said in a tired voice.

"I'll make you a bowl, if you talk to me." He said with a goofy grin.

"I'll make my own bowl. I don't need you." She snapped as she walked in to the kitchen.

Yamcha sighed in frustration. Just as he was about to eat his noodles, the phone rang. He got up, setting his bowl on the coffee table and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ay, put Kushami on the phone."

"What? Who is this?" Yamcha asked, leaning into the phone.

"An old friend." The person said, in a sarcastic tone. "You tell dat girl if she talks, she's dead, see?"

"If she talks about what?"

Suddenly, the phone clicked. A dial tone replaced the caller's voice. He hung up the phone and turned around just as Kushami walked into the living room with her bowl.

"Who was that?"

* * *

.:Authors Note:.

Hey, it's Burikko! I went back and corrected some spelling and added new chapter names. I owe everybody a big thanks for takingtime to read my little story.Especially Walutahanga.Keep commenting! I love it! If you want me to comment on a story of yours, let me know! It's the least I can do.


	4. A story without an ending

**Walking on broken glass**

_By: Burikko / Katie.G_

I do not own Dragonball/Z/GT. This is strictly a fan fiction. I do not plan on making a profit out of this story.

**Chapter 4:** "The story without an ending"

* * *

"What are you talking about? What do you mean?" 

"Just what I said. There's somebody after you. They obviously don't want you to talk about Kami knows what."

Kushami stood there, holding her bowl of noodle soup in front of her. She looked surprisingly shocked at the news Yamcha was sharing with her. How did they find her?

"Kushami, I can't help you if I don't know what's going on." He paused and began to count on his fingers. "How many times have I said that now?"

Kushami set her bowl down and turned her back on him.

"I don't need your help." She snapped. She lowered her head and walked to the door, kicked off her slippers, then grabbed her army boots.

"Stop being so god damn proud of yourself!" Yamcha shouted, clutching his fists. He was normally a patient person, but as of late he would get irritated easily without knowing why...

Kushami gasped and rose her head up. What did he just say? Proud? She dropped her army boots and looked over her shoulder.

"...I am so tired of people pushing me away! Why won't you let me help? Why won't you trust me?"

Kushami's expression softened. She turned around and nodded her head slightly. She knew... that he was right. She was too proud to accept any help from anybody. But she had never realized it until now.

"Kushami..." Yamcha looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry to shout, but-"

"No," Kushami said under a sigh sigh. "…Your right. I guess I'll need all the help I can get." She paused and laughed a little. "Especially from a strong fighter."

"A strong fighter?" Yamcha asked, blinking a little. "Who?"

"...Never mind." Kushami said, rolling her eyes. She walked back into the living room and sat on the sofa.

"You might want to sit down, this is a long story."

Yamcha nodded then sat on the arm of the sofa next to Kushami.

"I guess it all started when I was waiting for Tien at the bottom of Kami's tower. Eventually, I figured he wasn't going to come down any time soon. I went to the bar to drink myself to death, when I realized... I don't need a man to keep **me** happy. I decided to pull a big robbery to cheer myself up. I read in the newspaper that a big diamond was on display at the museum. I planned out a perfect plan to brake in to steal it. I thought I wouldn't run into any flaws. But I was wrong. It seemed somebody else was after the diamond. We ran into each other, and that's when the alarms went off..."

---------------

"_Red alert. Red alert. Intruders on floor 30, intruders, intruders." _

"_I can't **believe **this is happening to me! The boss is going to be pissed off when I come back empty handed. This is all your fault!" _

"_How can you say that?** I'm **not the one who set off the alarms." _

_Kushami ran as fast as her legs would allow her. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she decided to pull a 'successful' robbery. Just when she was about to grab her prize, this idiot appears and tries to steal the diamond **she's** stealing. How dare he! She glared at him as they ran through the halls of the closed museum._

"_Why are you fallowing me!" The young boy growled. _

_He was strangely dressed for an event such as this. He had on an old fashion 1920's suit, tie, and hat. His eyes and hair were both brown, and he looked to be in his early 20's. _

"_It just so happens that I'm heading to the fire escape." She snapped. _

_She turned the corner and sighed in relief as soon as she saw an open window leading to the fire escape. Once she'd get outside, she would 'building hop' until she was far away enough to get the stench of 'cop grease' out of her nose. _

"_Pardon me, girly." _

_The boy ran ahead of her, jumped out the window, and the little bastard closed it and held it shut. He smirked as he looked at Kushami through the glass, almost like he was mocking her._

"_What the hell is your problem!" Kushami hissed. "Let go of the window, let me out!" _

_She growled, and went to her back pocket for her gun when she realized that it was missing. It must have fallen out while she was running. She began to punch the glass, but the young boy only laughed, knowing how worthless her attempts were. The glass had to be at least 4 inches thick. _

"_...What do you want? Name it!" Kushami asked, still trying to lift the window. _

"_Hmmm... Interesting proposal." _

_As the boy pondered, Kushami could hear the distant footsteps of security guards and policeman running up the stairs. Her eyes got big with fear. She couldn't go back to the slammer, she just couldn't! _

"_Hurry!" _

"_I'll open the window only if you agree to join my gang."_

"_Fine! Anything!" _

_The young boy quickly opened the window and grabbed a hold of Kushami by her waist and yanked her out on the fire escape. He quickly closed the window and jumped up onto the fire escape ledge, looking down. _

"_What are you, crazy! We're 30 stories high! You'll brake your neck if you jump!"_

"_**We'll** brake our neck if** we** jump." He corrected her. "Your with me now." He grabbed a hold of her arm and winked at her. "Better grab a hold of me." _

_Before Kushami could even respond, she found herself falling face first towards the ground. She quickly grabbed a hold of the young boy, clinging on to him as she fell to her doom. But just then, they stopped 5 inches above the ground. She opened her eyes and blinked. _

"_What…? I'm not dead?" _

"_Levitating boots." He said as he pointed to his feet. "Capsule Corps was selling them." He landed on the ground and opened his suit jacket a little and whispered into a little bug on his collar. "Mission aborted, send the get away car."_

_Suddenly, a black car zoomed out of a alleyway and sped towards them. It screeched to a halt, and the doors flung open. _

"_Come on!" _

------------

"I didn't want to take orders from anybody, but I didn't have a choice. **Anything** is better then the slammer. At first it wasn't so bad… I would do a robbery and get almost half of the loot. They gave me a nice place to live, I got three meals a day, and I got everything I could want."

"So what happened?"

"Well… It all went down hill three months later."

-----------

"_Hey! Kushami!" _

"_What?" She asked, shining her gun, not bothering to look up. _

"_The boss wants to see you in his office." _

_With out a word she got up and walked down a hall of the big abandoned furniture factory. It was a temporary hide out, since the last one was blown to smithereens. It turns out the gang she 'signed up' for had quite a few enemies. She stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall. _

_She was about to knock, but somebody on the other side of the door interrupted her. _

"_I know yer dere, juss come in." _

_Kushami sighed and walked in, closing the door behind her. The room was filled with cheap cigar smoke. She fanned the air and walked in front of a big desk, staring at the person on the other end. _

"_What is it?" She asked, getting right down to it. _

"_I think its time ta take it up ta da next level. I want cha ta give this guy da boot, see?" _

_The boss took out a file from a drawer in his desk and set it in front of Kushami, she took a quick look. It was an older man, nobody she knew. None the less… weather she knew the person or not, she didn't kill._

"_I'm no killer, sorry. Pick somebody else to do the job." She said as she pushed the file back to him. _

"_Not a killer? What are ya talkin' about? Ya carry guns every where ya go." _

"_It's for show." She confessed. "I haven't killed anybody and I don't plan to do it any time soon. My guns are for protection. I'll shoot if I have to, but only to slow the target down."_

_The boss sighed and stood up, narrowing his eyes. He took his cigar out of his ashtray and took a big puff and turned around, looking out the window, slowly exhaling the smoke into the air._

"_I see… What a shame." _

_Suddenly, two henchmen came out of the shadows and stood behind Kushami. She looked over her shoulder and immediately knew something was wrong. She narrowed her eyes a little and looked back to the boss._

"_If ya cant do a simple task such as dis, then yer worthless. Robberies are child's play ta us. We don't need ya."_

"…_Fine. I don't need you either. I'll show myself out." _

_Kushami turned around and went to open the door, but one of the bigheaded henchmen stopped her._

"_Sorry my dear, but ya know ta much, see? Yer sleeping with da fishes tonight."_

_---------------_

"They tried to kill you?" Yamcha gasped as his mouth hung open.

"Yep." Kushami said, shrugging her shoulders. "They were nasty little bastards."

"How'd you get away?" Yamcha asked, leaning forward just a little.

"…After a good long struggle, they some how managed to tie my arms and legs together, then tossed me in a tied up bed sheet. I didn't know where they were taking me, but the last thing I remember was a huge splash. They threw me in the lake, thinking nothing of it. I was under water for quite some time, and I would have been a goner if..." She paused and laughed as she thought about it, putting her hand on her forehead. "...If I hadn't been saved by a Canadian fishermen."

--------------

"_Ay, are you alright, lady? You must have taken some nasty fall, eh?" _

_Kushami slowly opened her eyes and slowly looked up and saw a blured figure standing over her. She rolled over to her side and began to cough up water violently. _

"_That's it... Cough it all up. Don't wanna drown your lungs. What's a girl like you doing all tied up and wrapped in a bed sheet anyway?"_

"_... Just take me to shore, buddy." Kushami groaned, then continued to cough._

"_Shore? Oh, 'friad I can't do that. You've been out for quite some time and we're to far from the Japanese shore, but I can take you to Canada if you'd like."_

"_...Canada, huh?"_

_---------------_

"So, I went to Canada... and became a wanted criminal all over again." A smile snuck on her face. "Years went by, I changed my appearance and name several times, but I didn't care. I wasn't exactly happy but for once I didn't think about my past or who was in it. I could care less. I was too busy having fun. But one day... My past came and bit me in the ass."

--------------

"_Looks like it's bad news for Japan, eh? That bug monster wants to destroy the world." _

"_You moron, if he's going to destroy the world, he'll destroy Canada too." _

"_Why don't you drunks shuddup!" _

"_What didya say about my daughter? I outta saw you down to a tooth pick!" _

_Kushami sat silently at a crowed bar near the state line of America. She took her sixth shot, but her eyes never left the television set. _

"_Hey! Shut your big flaps, I'm trying to watch the boob-tube!" Kushami shouted, throwing her glass across the room. _

_Almost immediately, everyone in the bar froze. There wasn't a sound to be heard. Kushami stood up and climbed up on to the bar counter and walked with a wobble as she made her way to the television set that was set up high on a shelf. She turned it up full blast and just stared into the screen with a blank expression. _

"_It appears several mysterious fighters are now challenging the bug like monster, Cell! Will these fighters succeed? Or will they just get in the way of our mighty champion, Mr. Satan?" _

_The television screen suddenly flashed several faces that she thought she would never see again. Goku... Yamcha... Krillin..._

"_Tien..." She thought out loud._

_---------------_

"So, I decided after Kami knows how many years to go back. I borrowed a plane and got lost for a while, but eventually made it to Japan. But when I landed, the action was already over, what's-his-face was killed, and Tien was once again nowhere to be found. I tried to look him up, but he wasn't listed in any phone book and I had forgotten where he lived, and even if I did there was no guarantee that he still lived there."

Yamcha looked up at the clock on his wall, it was almost 11:00pm. He laughed a little, and stood up to stretch.

"I didn't realize when you said it was a long story… that it was a** long** story." He chuckled once more.

"It's almost over," Kushami said with a smirk. "I bet you that I've had more action then you in the years we last saw each other."

"Hmm… I don't know about that." He said. "But I'm curious, please continue."

"Well, I stayed in the mountains for a few weeks. One night I decided that if I was going to stay, I should probably build some sort of cottage." She paused and crossed her legs. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm not handy. When I was younger, I use to work in construction. Anyway, I went into town to look up a lumber yard, it was maybe 7:00pm, and I came across something I wish I hadn't…"

--------------

_Kushami silently walked on the empty sidewalk, staring up at the sky. She sure missed the moon; she wondered what happened to it… It just disappeared. As she thought silently to herself, she suddenly heard voices… She stopped and looked around, but saw nobody. _

"_You haven't paid what you owe us, you either pay now, or you pay never." _

"_Please! Don't hurt me!" _

_She looked over her shoulder across the street and saw a pair of shadows on the sidewalk, the shadows appeared to be coming from a small alleyway. She ran across the street and leaned against the brick wall next to the alley. She strained her ears, trying to figure out what was going on. _

"_My business has been slow as of late, please let me give you half now and I'll give you the other half next month." _

"_It's all of the money, or none of the money." _

_Kushami heard a very familiar sound, the sound of a gun cock. She narrowed her eyes and pulled a small handgun from her front pocket and jumped into the alleyway, holding her gun in front of her. _

"_Hey!" She yelled out. _

_Suddenly, a brown haired brown eyed man turned around and glared at her. He had on a very familiar 1920's suit, tie and hat. _

"…_Oh, Kushami. Long time no see, huh?" He asked, chuckling. _

_It was the boy… erm it was the **man** who had ruined her plans on stealing that over sized diamond in the museum. The very same man who mocked her then forced her to join that stupid gang which landed her in the bottom of a lake, then that sappy country called Canada. It was him! …That son of a bitch. _

"_YOU!" She growled. She was so angry she could barely talk. _

_-------------_

Kushami suddenly stopped in the middle of her story. She got up and poured herself a shot from Yamcha's mini bar.

Yamcha was baffled at her sudden pause. He stared at her for the longest time and glanced up at the clock, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't say anything.

"…Well?" He finally asked.

"Well what?" She questioned.

"Well… what happened next?" He asked, tapping his fingers on his knee.

"No clue. I sneezed. For all I know, my other half could have killed them both. The next thing I remember is waking up in a dirty jail cell." She shuddered as she thought about that tiny unsanitary cell. "My other half probably would have called Tien first, but like I said, he wasn't listed in any phone book. Thus… She called you. I mean, how many other Yamcha's are there with no last name?" She asked with a smile.

"Heh… Yeah." He mumbled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Without warning, Kushami dropped her glass and covered her nose. But that didn't stop what was coming, she let out a loud sneeze and her blonde hair and deviant eyes returned to their innocent state.

"…What happened?" Launch asked, tilting her head a little.

"Nothing much." Yamcha said, still intrigued by Launch's strange personality, even after seeing it quite a few times. "I think I'll hit the hay, though. It's past 11:00pm."

Yamcha got up once more and yawned, he went to turn off the light, but Launch stopped him.

"I'm to afraid to sleep here…" She whispered, trying not to seem bothersome.

"Oh? Why?" Yamcha asked turning around to look at her. "Do you remember something?"

"No…" She said, looking down a little. "I just feel uneasy…"

Yamcha sighed but smiled.

"I know a place where nobody would find you, would you like to go?" He asked.

"…Well, sure!" Launch said, she seemed to perk up almost right away. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there." He said, grabbing a pair of shoes. "And we probably should take a few blankets..."

* * *

Authors Note:

Hi everybody! Burikko Here! Finally, this has got to be the longest chapter so far. Even **I** didn't know Kushami's story would last so long. Thank you all **SO** much for commenting. I only got one comment last chapter, (thanks elektra12) but hopefully this chapter will strike more attention. Please keep those comments coming! If any of you want me to read one of **your** fictions, please let me know.


	5. Lost In Our Thoughts

**Walking on broken glass**

_By: Burikko / Katie.G_

I do not own Dragonball/Z/GT. This is strictly a fan fiction. I do not plan on making a profit out of this story.

**Chapter 5** "Lost In Our Thoughts."

* * *

Yamcha… Are we almost there? This blind fold is itchy!"

"Just a few more miles. Trust me, nobody will find us way out here."

Yamcha held onto Launch tightly as he flew through the air. A couple of times Launch had to ask him to loosen his grip, but he just couldn't help it… It was kind of a habit. Whenever Bulma flew with him, she would ask to be held tightly.

….Bulma.

"Yamcha, not to be rude… but I don't see why I have to wear a blind fold."

"It's a complete secret. Even after all these years… You can never be to safe, you know?" Yamcha laughed a little. "If Puar found out I was-"

Yamcha caught himself in mid-sentence… He **really** felt guilty now. He had forgotten all about Puar and the reason why she left. He let out an uneasy sigh. Bar hopping… Drinking… Woman….

"Yamcha? Hello?"

"..Sorry!" He said, laughing again. "I was just saying, If Puar found out I was taking you here, she might have a little bit of a hissy fit."

"Where **is** Puar? I heard her on your answering machine, but didn't see her in your home…" Launch asked, aimlessly turning her head towards him.

Yamcha cleared his throat and began to slow down. He changed the subject as soon as he saw his destination straight ahead. He gently landed on the ground and removed Launch's blindfold.

"Ta-Da!"

Launch quickly opened her eyes with a big smile, but her smile quickly faded when she saw nothing but a small cottage like house. It was beat up and out of shape.

"…Wow. I'm at a lose for words…" Launch said awkwardly.

"It's my old hideout when I was a desert bandit with Puar. I haven't been here in forever! I was worried that it wouldn't even be here anymore. The desert can have unpredictable weather. Hot during the day, cold during the night." Yamcha said under a calm sigh. Thinking about the past always made him happy.

"I never knew you were a desert bandit." Launch said, looking to him.

Yamcha didn't say anything. He took out a capsule and clicked the small button on top and threw it up in the air. It poofed and a few blankets fell to the ground. He quickly gathered them up and walked into his impressive hideout while Launch reluctantly fallowed him.

Time went by, Yamcha had set up two places to sleep on the floor with the blankets since the furniture was either stolen or broken. He laid beside Launch and he talked about what had happened through the years. Frieza, Trunks, The Androids, Cell… He talked a little about Bulma, but he'd always stop himself.

"I haven't really trained a lot since Goku and Gohan defeated Cell. I mean, I suppose I should. Who knows what could…" He paused and turned to Launch. She had already fallen asleep…

"…Who knows what could happen." He finished his sentence in a whisper. He watched her sleep, he could hear her breath and her heartbeat. It was calming, in a strange way. He turned his head and yawned and closed his eyes…

---------

"_Yamcha! Help me! Please!" _

"_Bulma! Hold on! I'm coming!" _

"…_Yamcha! Wait! Don't leave me!" _

_Yamcha stopped and looked over his shoulder. There he saw Launch, being pulled into the shadows by an unknown source. _

"_Yamcha! Please don't leave me! Help!" Launch pleaded. _

_He turned back to Bulma, who was stranded on a small rock, in the middle of a cliff. _

"_Yamcha! I'm scared! .. I'm going to fall!" Bulma screamed. _

_Yamcha ran looked back to Launch, then back to Bulma. He bit onto his bottom lip and fell to his knee's, grabbing a hold of his head. _

"_What's happening to me?" He shouted. _

---------

His eyes shot open as he quickly sat up. His breath was heavey, and his heart was racing. What just happened? Where was he? He took a look around his surroundings… At first he thought he was back in the past. A desert bandit with his trusty sidekick, Puar. But he quickly came back to his senses.

"…That dream, what did it mean?" He grabbed a hold of his forehead. His breathing began to calm down.

He turned to his side to check on Launch, he patted the blankets beside him before realizing that she was gone. He gasped and quickly stood up searched the blankets more vigorously, then quickly ran around his hideout.

"Launch!"

He bust out of his front door and ran into the sandy desert. He looked around, but saw nothing. Not even footprints.

"…LAUNCH!"

-------

She walked in silence through the desert. She looked over her shoulder to see if Yamcha was following her. She saw nothing and kept walking.

"This would be a lot easier if that bastard Tien taught me how to fly." Kushami growled.

In her hand she clutched a small brown backpack. She had 'borrowed' it when she snuck out of Yamcha's pathetic hideout. She didn't bother looking in it; she just aimlessly grabbed a few things in the dark before she left.

"Well… now that the sun is out, let's see what he has here." She dug into the brown bag and pulled out a pair of orange gi clothes. She tossed that aside and kept looking. She finally came across three capsules.

"Let's see what's in this one." She said as she clicked the top of the capsule and threw it into the air. It 'poofed' open, and as the smoke cleared, there sat an old fashion hover cycle. Her eyes widened with excitement. She hasn't seen one of those since that time she robbed that train.

"Now **that's** what I'm talking about!"

She stuffed the capsules back into the backpack, threw it on, jumped onto the hover cycle, and stepped on the gas with no mercy. She zoomed aimlessly through the desert.

As she rode off, she let her mind wandered off. She thought about what had happened and who was going to happen. …The only reason she had left Yamcha was because, well, she would never admit it out loud, but she didn't want him to get mixed up with her problems. But… She felt kind of bad for not leaving a note or something.

"Thanks for helping me get back on my feet. But this is where I leave you." She thought out loud, as she imagined Yamcha flying beside her.

She shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. What was she thinking?? What did **she **care weather or not she hurt Yamcha's feelings. So he got her out of jail… big whoop. She could have broken out if she wanted.

"…Get out of my head!" She growled to herself. "I don't need you anymore!" She stepped fully on the gas and zoomed towards town as dust fallowed behind her.

------

Tien sat silently on a cliff and gazed into the desert. Chiaotzu went home after they were done training… He closed his eyes and put his fingers together to meditate his mind.

"Tien!"

He slowly opened his eyes as he heard a tiny voice call his name. He looked around, but saw nothing.

"Tien! Down here! Tien!"

He looked down and saw someone that he thought he would never ever see again. His mouth hung open a little as he stood up.

"Kushami?"

* * *

**Authors Note:**

Hi everybody! It's Burikko again… Sorry it took so long for a update, and this is kind of a cliffhanger chapter. I think I might be getting writers block. I feel kind of uneasy about this chapter. What do you guys think? …Reviews are much loved! Thanks to Tomo and Elektra12. (You were right!)


	6. The Promise

**Walking on broken glass**

_By: Burikko / Katie.G_

I do not own Dragonball/Z/GT. This is strictly a fan fiction. I do not plan on making a profit out of this story.

**Chapter 6** ""

* * *

He was at a loss for words; never in his life did he think he would see her again. All these years he thought that she just vanished, just like that. Seeing her brought memories back… He exhaled slightly as he walked off the cliff and slowly floated down to the ground.

"Hey there." He said, forcing a smile. "Long time no see."

"Long time? It's been forever!" She said stepping a bit closer to him.

"So, um…" He paused and took a small step back, and smiled once more. "How are you doing?"

"Oh… You know… Same old thing, just a different day."

He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at her. A long awkward silence came over them. Both of them fidgeted and fiddled with their hands.

"Well um… I have to get going." Tien said softly as he slowly began to turn around.

"I love you."

He stopped as his eyes went wide. A gasp escaped his lips as he quickly spun back around. She stood, feet planted in the ground, arms to her side, and eyes staring right at him. He thought for a moment that she was on the verge of tears.

"What?"

Her eyes traced to the ground, she was silence for a moment. She didn't know if she should repeat what she just said. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked back up at him.

"I love you." She repeated. "… We were together for a long time, but we both we're to thick headed to ever admit it to each other. I've been through so much, and seeing you again made me realize…" She paused and shook her head. "I just wanted you to hear it."

Tien squinted his eyes a little and looked into her eyes. He had this weird emotion in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite explain. Frustration, pity, and lonely all squished into one.

"Kushami, I left you when you promised me that you wouldn't commit anymore crimes. I came home and you fixed us a huge dinner, but only to find out that you stole the money so that you can do so."

"But…"

"Do you know what I read in the news paper yesterday?" He asked, closing his eyes as if he was picturing the headline he saw. "…Young woman, identified as Launch to stand trail on unknown date for murder."

"But I didn't…"

"You haven't change Kushami…" He said, opening up his eyes. "I can't trust you're words anymore."

"I didn't do it!!" She yelled at him, clutching her fists.

"I wish I could believe you…"

His back slowly turned on her as he slowly lifted in the sky, then zipped out of sight. Kushami stared at the spot where his figure had disappeared and fell onto her hands and knees. She bit onto her bottom lip and clamped her eyes shut. She was so sick of crying… She wouldn't allow herself to give in. She calmed down a little and clutched the sand in her hands. She quickly stood up and threw the sand into the air, her sorrow replaced with anger.

"Oh yeah?? Well who the hell needs you, you fucking bastard!! Screw you!" She screamed.

She stood there in silence, hoping for some kind of responds. …Nothing.

"…I don't need you." She looked down and that's when she realized that… she was alone…

* * *

Yamcha slowly walked in the bar and sat down at his usual stool, laying his forehead down on the table.

"Yamcha, it's been a few days, where you been?" The bartender asked, as his wiped down a shot glass.

"I don't even know anymore." He said, not bothering to even raise his head. "Just give me scotch on the rocks, Frank."

"Love to, but somebody came in and cleaned out the last bottle. I wouldn't have served her anymore then four but she insisted. I sent somebody down to the store to fetch some more. You can order something else or you can wait if you like." He said as he inspected the shot glass, then set it down in front of him.

"Who the hell could have cleaned out a whole bottle of scotch?" Yamcha asked, glaring up at the bartender.

"AH-CHOO!"

Yamchas eyes widened as he heard that sneeze. His head quickly shot up as he peered down the bar.

"No. I couldn't be…"

He got up and walked slowly to the end of the bar. Right at the last stool, sat a very confused but happy Launch.

"Wha?" She looked around, with a goofy smile. "What am I… What am I dooing hare?" She noticed Yamcha and began to snicker. "Psst… Ya know… ya look like shum coot guy I know." She laughed. "But don't shoe DARE tell 'em."

Yamcha blushed slightly as he looked around, noticing how much attention Launch was getting. He forced a laugh and gently tugged on her arm.

"Heh, lets** go** Launch…"

"Rude!" She snapped. "I'm not even done 'wit my dwink…" With her goofy grin she took a sip then stuck out her tongue. "Blah… 'k, I'm done."

Yamcha tugged on her arm once more, but she barley moved. Finally Yamcha eventually picked her up and carried her out of the bar.

"Do you remember what happened?" Yamcha asked, looking concerned and confused. "How did you get here?"

"…Remember wha?" She asked, that drunken grin never leaving her face.

He sighed softly. Seeing Launch like this finally made him realized what his life had become. I mean, he was always aware of what he was doing, but he realized now how deep in shit he was. He really let himself go and didn't think or care about the consequences. …He couldn't do it anymore. Somebody was depending on them, weather they would admit it or not.

"I promise…" He said as he held onto Launch tightly. "To help you any way I can." He spoke in a strong voice, looking forwards as he walked.

_BLECK _

"…Den can shoe _help_ me clean up my shirt?" She hiccupped.

"………"

* * *

"Yamcha, I'm scared. I don't know if I want to do this…"

Yamcha looked over at her, smiled slightly and took a hold of her hand, squeezing it a little. He certainly didn't want her to do something she was unsure of, but… it could be their only hope to find out what was going on in Launch's head and why she didn't remember what happened after she sneezed that night.

"I want force you to… But it would really put my mind at ease." He said.

"…Okay." She smiled a bit. "I'll do it for you."

She let out a heavy sigh, and walked along side Yamcha as they entered Capsule Corporations...

* * *

Authors Note:

Hi everybody! Burikko here. Thanks to everybody who commented, and I'm sorry I'm to lazy to mention names. I was kind of worried that I didn't keep the characters in... well... character. Plus I still think I need to make longer chapters, but my attention span is short. Anyway, comments and suggestions are loved!


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